PORT ALLEN - Lieutenant Ken Albarez with the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is confident the plan to expand I-10 on the east side of The Mississippi River will help with traffic woes.

"I feel comfortable speaking for the 25,000 people that live here in West Baton Rouge Parish, we're excited," Albarez said.

The choke hold that occurs going east before hitting the bridge is notorious for causing bad accidents. Often, cars and trucks are unaware of the back-up and do not break in times, sometimes proving fatal.

"Because this is two lanes, when you merge with LA-1 then it becomes three lanes," Albarez says. "Those three lanes again are going to turn back into one lane."

With the state's plan to build additional lanes between the river and the 10-12 split, Albarez sees the traffic, and possibly the number of fatal accidents, decreasing. 

"To add a lane absolutely will help us on the West side of the river, and again, we applaud the state for all their efforts, and anything they can do to help us on this side of the river," Albarez said.